Promise Me You Won't Cry At My Funeral
by CrazySarahify
Summary: Luffy's dying. Nobody knows. Not his crew. Not his doctor. Only him, Ace, and Sunny know about it. But Luffy has two favor's he would like his crew to do for him. What are they?


Promise Me You Won't Cry At My Funeral

It has been four years since Marineford and the deaths of Ace and Whitebeard. Two years since the Strawhats were reunited and found out Luffy's brother, Sabo, was still alive. A few short months since the Strawhats found Blackbeard and won against him allowing Luffy to fulfill his dreams of being the Pirate King. Soon followed by Zoro becoming the world's best swordsman in the middle of All Blue, fulfilling Sanji's dream as well. The crew had met Shanks and his crew three weeks later. Expecting to be told to hand over his treasure, Luffy was more than a little surprised when Shanks told him to keep it. During the visit, Usopp met his father Yassop, who told him he was proud of his young Warrior of the Seas. But not all recent happenings were good.

Shortly after becoming King, Luffy started having issues. It first started with chest pains, slowly elevating to points where his heart would stop momentarily. After a few fits, his heart would stop for longer periods of time. Even through all this, he never showed signs of pain. Even though he knew it wasn't right and wasn't supposed to be happening, he didn't go to his doctor.

Luffy knew he was dying. He knew at this point, it was too late to be cured, if it was curable at all. He knew if he went to his doctor, the young reindeer would tell everyone. He knew his crew would worry for his life. He knew they would be sad. That wasn't what he wanted. He didn't want to die. But there was one thing he wanted less; his friends to worry about him. He hated seeing his friends upset. He hated seeing them cry. That's why he had two simple wishes. The first was for his crew to continue their journey and to fulfill their dreams. The second, which he knew would be the hardest, was for them not to cry when he died.

Luffy knew his time would be up very soon. He was sure what he was feeling now was what Ace had felt. Not the pain in his chest, but the sense of death surrounding him. His heart had stopped for nearly five minutes earlier that morning, before his crew had woken up. He had been living with that horrible pain for the past three months.

The first week, he had thought nothing of it. He first believed he had been hit in the chest during his fight with Blackbeard. But after two weeks of that tingling slowly growing larger, he knew it wasn't from the fight. A week later, his heart had stopped for the first time causing him to enter a coughing fit. The only thing that didn't give it away was the fact that he had been drinking water at the time and his crew thought he had inhaled some of the liquid. After that Luffy started being more careful. His lies were becoming more and more believable. Whenever someone asked if he was alright, he would lie and they would believe it. He was nearly as strong a liar as Usopp.

During the past week, the fits had become more frequent and had been lasting longer. Luffy knew he was very close to his time when he had come back from one of his fits and saw Ace's spirit looking at him worriedly. The first time it was just for a moment that he saw his deceased brother, but with each fit, Ace would appear for longer periods of time. By the end of the week, Ace was almost always with Luffy and they would talk about their past.

Ace would tell Luffy how he had been watching over the Whitebeard pirates and Sabo, telling mostly of what they had been up to. Luffy would usually tell about his adventures from the past four years. Ace's favorite stories to hear were how Luffy had met Sabo along with how the middle brother had gained the eldest brothers ability, and how Luffy had personally gotten revenge on Blackbeard for him. Those two tales would always bring a smile to his face, no matter how many times they were told.

But Ace had to admit, as lonely as he was, he didn't want his little brother to join him in heaven. True the boy had achieved his dream and kept his promise to become King, but he was still just that. A boy. He would turn twenty-one the next day. True, Ace had been twenty when he died, but he had lived his life and done what he wanted. Luffy still hadn't seen everything. Luffy still hadn't lived. Even though the boy had the title of the man with the most freedom, he still hadn't gone out and proved how free he truly was.

Every time Luffy had a fit, Ace would panic. He didn't care if he was alone for another amount of years, he didn't want his brother to die yet. At one point, Ace had been so scared for the boy that he tried calling to the young doctor for help. Much to his surprise, the small reindeer had walked in a minute later, asking if his captain was alright. But by the time the boy walked in the room, Luffy's fit had ended and he could breathe again. Ace almost hated how perfectly timed his brothers fits were. They always happened when nobody was around. Eventually, Ace felt like he had gone insane. Especially when he started yelling at the still living crew to stop leaving Luffy alone. When the crew didn't hear him, he felt like punching something but when he tried, his fist would faze through the object, or person.

Luffy had to admit, he missed his brother more than he had first thought. When he saw Ace try to punch Zoro in the head but faze through and growl, Luffy started laughing. When Zoro asked what he was laughing about, Luffy said there was something on his head, to which Zoro attempted to smack away and ended up hitting Ace in the head. When Ace glared at Zoro, Luffy had a hard time holding back his laughter. Taking his laughter as a sign the thing was still there, Zoro had slapped at it again and had managed to slap Ace in the face. Luffy loved messing with Ace.

But this particular day wasn't as cheerful. Ace had been quiet and sad while Luffy was calm and just enjoying what little time he had left. The whole crew had been quieter as well. No one knew why, but they all felt almost bothered about something. No one knew what the cause of this was though. The only ones that knew were Ace and Luffy.

When the sun started setting, Sanji had called out for everyone to eat. Luffy had heard the chef, but didn't move from his spot at the railing. He had chosen to stay there for a few extra moments as he watched the sunset. Eventually, he started getting hungry and had to grab something.

When Luffy walked into the dining hall, all eyes were on him, silently asking why he was late. Luffy didn't say a word before grabbing his plate and heading back on deck to watch the sun fade into the ocean he called his home. Carefully, he sat on the railing with his plate on his lap and slowly ate. He never really took the time to savor the taste of Sanji's food. Now that he was eating slowly for once, he could taste every little flavor he had missed before. He had to admit, his chef was greater than he had ever thought. He'd have to remember to thank the blond cook for being there and living with him and his eating habits.

Once finished, Luffy headed back to the kitchen and put his plate on the counter to be washed. Without a sound, he walked around the entire ship and listened carefully to every sound. He stopped every once in a while and would close his eyes so his ears could focus more. Zoro was in the crows nest, lifting his weights like usual. Nami was in the study, adding the final details to her newest map. Usopp was in his workshop, trying to upgrade some of his latest inventions. Sanji was in the kitchen, doing the dishes. Chopper was in the infirmary, grinding up some herbs and making some new medicines. Robin was in the library, reading one of her favorite books. Franky was in the Soldier Dock System, cleaning up the many boats and fixing them if they needed it. Brook was in the kitchen, writing a new song.

Luffy couldn't help but smile and think about how great his crew was. He thought he was the luckiest man in the world, at least he would have been had he not gained this illness. Slowly, Luffy made his way back to the deck and walked over to his spot on the lion figurehead before sitting on it.

"Thanks Sunny… For everything." Luffy whispered.

"My pleasure." A small child-like voice said.

Luffy turned towards the voice and saw, what looked like, a small boy in an orange smock, with a lion head, very similar to the figurehead Luffy was sitting on, on the chest, and the hood up. A sad smile showed itself on what he could see of the shadow-like face. Luffy smiled to the figure, having seen it many times in the past month. He didn't know when it happened but, at some point, Luffy had started to see Sunny's spirit and would sometimes talk to it. He was confused at first, but then he remembered Merry and what Franky had said. He remembered being clueless as Franky tried to explain it, finally resorting to speaking to the captain like he was a young child. To him, it came across as 'If the ship is cared for enough and treated like part of the crew, then it gains a soul of its own'. Luffy was amazed at first but now it was common.

"I'm sorry I can't help you Luffy-san…" Sunny said sadly.

"It's fine. You've done more than enough." Luffy whispered reassuringly.

"You have. I have to say, even I'm impressed by what you've done. Sorry I thought you were just a ship." Ace said quietly.

"It's alright Ace-san. You aren't the only one." Sunny said with a small smile.

"Has anyone else seen you yet?" Luffy asked curiously.

Sunny shook his head. "Not yet. But they will soon. I know it."

"Good. I'll need you to help cheer them up after I'm gone, alright?" Luffy stated with a small smile.

Silently, Sunny nodded.

"Luffy… Please stop saying that. I don't want to be reminded of it." Ace begged quietly.

Luffy chuckled quietly. "Sorry. I forgot."

"How do you forget?!" Ace shouted before punching Luffy in the head, landing a real hit.

As Luffy started to fall to the side, Sunny leaned the ship, allowing the captain to regain his balance with a small thanks.

"Ace-san, please don't hit Luffy-san. All I can do is lean and let him regain his balance. What if he fell in? I can't dive after him, especially with no one directing me. Everyone would panic." Sunny said, almost like a parent lecturing their child.

"Sorry Sunny." Ace said as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "It's just… This whole thing has me on edge." Ace sighed.

"I know…" Sunny said quietly with his head down.

"Hey… Do you mind not acting like I'm already… you know…?" Luffy asked quietly.

"Sorry…" Ace and Sunny said in unison.

"Luffy?" a voice asked from behind said boy.

Luffy immediately wiped the sadness from his face and eyes as he turned towards the voice. There he saw Zoro, shirtless with a towel wrapped around his neck and the two ends in his hands.

Jm

"Hey Zoro." Luffy said cheerfully.

"Hey. What are you doing out here?" Zoro asked.

"Nothing. Just watching the ocean. It's really pretty tonight." Luffy said with a smile.

"Okay… Are you alright?" Zoro asked suddenly.

Immediately, Luffy started to panic internally. Had Zoro found out he was acting different? Had the swordsman seen him during a fit? As he asked himself all these questions, he hid his panic from his first mate and instead asked a different question, "What do you mean?"

"I thought I heard you talking to someone. But it was only your voice so I was wondering what you were doing." Zoro explained.

Luffy had to hold back a sigh of relief. He was happy Zoro still didn't know. Zoro was the closest to Luffy and could easily read him like a book. If the swordsman had found out, then that meant everyone knew about their captain's state.

"I was talking to Sunny and… and Ace." Luffy admit calmly.

Zoro was shocked. Talking about Ace was almost taboo among the crew. Nobody wanted to remind Luffy of the horrible things that happened during Marineford, and yet the captain had just mentioned it with little to no hesitation.

"W-what do you mean?" Zoro questioned, his shock slipping through as a stutter.

"I needed some advice and didn't know how to ask you and the others so I came out here and asked them. Sunny's really smart and Ace knows a lot too." Luffy stated.

"Oh… Alright… See ya in the morning." Zoro said as he turned around but stopped himself halfway. "Oh and happy birthday Luffy."

Luffy smiled. "Thanks." Luffy said before turning his back to the swordsman and facing the ocean.

Zoro stood there for a moment before slowly turning away and walking towards the stairs.

"Actually Zoro…" Luffy called out, not turning around.

"Yeah?" Zoro asked, not turning to face the other.

"Can I ask you a favor?" Luffy questioned.

"You can ask me anything. Doesn't mean I have to answer though." Zoro stated with a small smirk.

Luffy chuckled lightly before getting to his question. "Say I were to go missing, or even die, what would you do?"

"I'd be upset. If you went missing, we would find you. If you died, we would kill the bastard who did it." Zoro replied.

"And after that? What would you do after you got revenge?" Luffy questioned.

"Don't know. I've already reached my goal. I don't really have anywhere to go so I'd probably stay here with everyone else." Zoro said.

Luffy let out a small chuckle. "If that did happen, I'd want you to be the captain. With that, I'd want you to make sure everyone's dreams come true and continue adventuring even after that."

"Alright." Zoro stated.

"While we're on the subject, I have a request for _all _of you." Luffy called out to his hiding crew members.

After finding out they were caught, the crew came out and all stood behind Luffy. They noticed he was staring at the ocean below and slowly started raising his head towards the sky, looking directly at the moon that was right above them. They hadn't realized just how late it was until now. It had to of been at least midnight.

"You called, Luffy-san?" Brook questioned, sounding happy and curious.

"Yeah… You heard most of what I told Zoro, right?" Luffy asked, not facing his crew.

"Luffy? Are you going to tell them?" Ace asked quietly.

'No.' Luffy mouthed.

"Yeah. Kind of a scary subject isn't it?" Usopp asked.

Luffy chuckled. "I guess it is… But I have a favor, while we're still talking about it."

"What is it?" Nami asked.

"When I die… Promise me you won't cry at my funeral." Luffy said.

"Oi. What's this about, shitty captain?" Sanji questioned.

"Why not?" Robin asked kindly.

"I don't like to see you guys sad, let alone crying. I can only imagine how horrible I would feel if I saw you all crying because of me." Luffy admit, chosing not to answer Sanji.

Everyone looked at each other. After a few moments of thought, everyone agreed to it, believing it was nothing but a joke. How wrong they were. Even Sunny and Ace agreed. They both knew the promise would be broken, but they still had to play along.

"Thanks. I'm gonna go to bed. Night guys." Luffy said before standing up and turning towards his crew with a smile. '_And goodbye._' Luffy added mentally.

Slowly he made his way down the stairs and to his room. Luffy, at first, thought the Captain's quarters would have been completely useless, but now he was secretly happy that the shipwright had added it. When he wanted some privacy, Luffy would hide out in the room and slowly started moving in. He had completely moved in right before he became the Pirate King and was glad he had done so. Now he was able to hide his fits from the crew just by going in his room.

As he opened his door and walked in the room, he started to feel his heart slow again. He closed the door carefully before sitting on his bed and laying down. Slowly he felt his heart stop yet again, but this time there was no pain. He looked to his brother and then to Sunny and smiled.

"Tell them… Tell them I say thanks for being by my side this whole time." Luffy whispered.

As Sunny nodded, Luffy smiled and closed his eyes for the final time.

-x-x-x-

As the sun started to rise above the Sunny everyone slowly started waking up. Sanji was the first to wake, as usual, and immediately started cooking Luffy's birthday breakfast. He would make more than usual since it was his captain's special day. After an hour of cooking, Sanji called out saying the meal was ready. However, Sanji noticed something. Everyone was there, except Luffy.

"Oi. Where's the shitty captain?" Sanji questioned.

"Probably still asleep." Nami said with a small giggle.

"I'll wake him up." Zoro said before standing and leaving.

After Zoro left, everyone heard something big splash into the water. Immediately, everyone ran out on deck to check if anything was missing. Everything seemed the same as usual except for one thing. The anchors had been lowered and were now in the water.

"Hey… Who dropped the anchors?" Franky questioned.

"Don't know. They were raised a moment ago." Usopp stated.

"Looks like it going to rain…" Nami muttered, staring at the dark clouds above her.

"But it was perfect weather a moment ago." Brook said.

"True but we are in the New World." Robin commented.

Suddenly, everyone heard a soft weeping coming from the center of the lawn deck. Everybody slowly turned to the sound and found a small child dressed in an orange smock, decorated by a lion head on the front, with the hood up. Quickly they noticed the child had their arm covering their face, almost as if they were crying and trying to hide it.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Nami asked as she kneeled next to the small child.

Immediately, the small child lowered their arm and lifted their head slightly, but the face was still shadowed by the hood. "Nami…" the young child muttered with a shaky voice.

"How do you know me?" said girl asked.

"NAMI!" the child screamed as they tackled the navigator into a hug and started crying into her shoulder.

"Nami? Do you know him?" Robin asked calmly.

"Not as far as I know." Nami said as she picked up the child and held him close.

"Anyone else notice the lion head on the front looked a lot like Sunny's head?" Chopper asked.

"Wait, what!?" Franky and Usopp shouted, startling most of the crew.

Carefully Nami turned the child so that she and the others could see the front of the outfit.

"No way…" Franky muttered. "That's-!"

"CHOPPER!" Zoro shouted from Luffy's room, unknowingly cutting Franky off.

Immediately, everyone ran to their captain's room and saw the door wide open. In the dim light of the room, everyone could see Luffy laying on his bed with a calm smile and Zoro next to him, looking panicked.

"What's wrong?" Chopper asked as he stepped forward.

"It's Luffy. He's… He's cold. He won't wake up." Zoro informed.

"What…?" Nami questioned silently before feeling the small child's grip tighten.

Immediately Chopper ran over and felt Luffy, nearly shivering at how cold his skin was. Quickly he checked for a pulse, but was frozen in shock at what he found. Or rather what he _hadn't _found. Slowly he lowered his arm.

"Chopper…?" Usopp questioned.

"L-Lu-Luffy's…" Chopper stuttered, his head lowering causing his hat to hide his face.

"What about Luffy?" Sanji questioned.

"Luffy-san…" The child cried. "I'm sorry… I couldn't keep my promise…!"

"What?" Nami questioned.

"Luffy's…" Chopper tried again but couldn't make it into a sentence.

"Chopper please…" Robin tried.

"What's wrong with Luffy-san?" Brook asked, worry clear in his voice.

"Luffy-san… He died last night! He died smiling at me! He told me to be brave! To take care of you all! But I can't do it! Not without my captain! I want Luffy-san to wake up but he won't! He and Ace disappeared into a big light last night after he fell asleep!" The child yelled into Nami's shoulder.

"Sunny…" Franky muttered through his shock.

Sunny didn't say a word, instead he just started to cry even more.

"No… It can't be… Luffy can't…" Nami muttered, tears forming in her eyes.

"You're lying! Luffy couldn't die! He's too strong! You can't be Sunny! Sunny wouldn't lie to us like this!" Usopp shouted.

"Luffy-san was sick… He had been for three months now… His heart kept stopping…! And it stopped for good last night!" Sunny shouted passed the tears.

"No…" Usopp whispered.

"Damn it! Why didn't he tell us!?" Sanji shouted.

"He didn't want us to worry… He said it himself last night…" Zoro muttered.

As the memory of the night before flashed through their minds, everyone quickly realized it was true. What Luffy had said last night were his final words to them. Immediately, tears started forming in everyone's eyes but didn't fall.

"He wanted me to tell you 'Thank you for being by my side this whole time'…" Sunny muttered.

As those ten words entered their minds, they all snapped. Immediately, tears poured from their eyes and down their cheeks before landing gently on the floor. Nami's grip on Sunny tightened and vise-versa. Chopper ran up to Zoro, who was the closest, and hugged him. Zoro had his eyes closed but shut them tighter as he tried to hold back his tears, only one escaping.

In the room, at the side of the bed opposite of Chopper and Zoro, stood the ghost of an infamous captain.

"You guys already broke your promise." Luffy whispered as a small tear slid down his cheek and fell from his chin before he faded for the last time.

As the stray tear hit the floorboards, the clouds that were quietly hanging above the Sunny began to cry as well. Rain poured from the clouds as the Strawhats cried their own tears.

The famous Strawhat captain, son of Monkey D. Dragon, grandson of Monkey D. Garp, brother of Sabo and Portgas D. Ace, the second Pirate King, Strawhat Luffy, Monkey D. Luffy had died on his twenty-first birthday.

**(My first one-shot! Gonna be honest, I cried. A lot. More than I expected honestly. I found out something weird while making this. Your heart can stop for 4-6 minutes and that isn't what kills you. You die because without the blood circulating to your brain, the cells begin to deteriorate. Once enough of them die, then you are considered dead. The idea for this came when I heard the song Life is Beautiful by Sixx:A.M.**

'**Just open your eyes**

**Just open your eyes**

**And see that life is beautiful.**

**Will you swear on your life,**

**That no one will cry at my funeral?'**

**If you have a song you like and you wouldn't mind me somewhat butchering it, put it in the reviews or PM me and I'll try and make it into a story like I did here. Bai~! c(X )**

**Start time – 3:30 P.M.**

**End time – 10:15 P.M.**


End file.
